Washing machine



ly 10, 1934. w. H. K. OELMANN WASHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 1 A AFT'ORNEY Jul 10, 1934.

w. H. K. OEVLMANN WASHING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented July 10, 1934 PATENT OFFICE WASG Wilhelm Hermann Karl Qelmann,Berlin, Germany, assignor to linventia Patent-Verwertungs-Gesellschaft,Schafihausen, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland ApplicationAugust 29, E932, Senal No. 636L852 In Germany September 3, 1931 33Claims. (El. 68-ll8) removed from the drum through said hollow shafts.Moreover, the axis of rotation of the drum is inclined to the horizontalso that one hollow shaft, which may be used as an inlet, is above theother, which may be used as an outlet. Also, the bearing of the lattershaft is preferably pivotally mounted in such a way that the drum may betilted up so that all liquid may be drained therefrom.

in the annexed drawings a preferred embodiment of a washing machineaccording to the invention is illustrated as an example.

Fig. l is a more or less diagrammatic drawing partially in crosssection, of the complete washing machine;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View or" a portion of the device shown inFig. l on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the left hand bearing of the drum; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a closure member for the outletopening of the drum.

In the drawings the supporting stand of the washing machine is denotedwith reference char- 'tcter 1. Stand 1 is carried by members 2 which"may be formed as wheels, rollers, studs or the like. In the upper partof stand 1, two bearings '23 and 4 are arranged in which the washingdrum, which in the embodiment illustrated is formed as a hollow ball 5,is rotatably supported by means of shafts S and 7. As shown in thedrawings, especially in Fig. 1, bearing 3 has a higher position thanbearing 4 due to which'fact the shafts 6 and 7 of the drum will duringnormal operation be in an inclined position. The rotation of the drum iseffected by means of an electric motor 8 mounted on stand 1. Thetransmission of power from the motor to the drum may be effected by asuitable gearing, as by means of the pinion 9 and gear 10. Shafts 6 and'7 are hollow and provided with axially extending channels or bores 11and l 12 respectively. In front of the entrance opening of channel 12into the drum, a strainer 13 or the like is arranged. In the embodimentillustrated,

one of the bearings mentioned, in this case the bearing 4, isconstructed in such manner that the drum 5 may be tilted to occupy astill more inclined position, as for instance shown in dotted lines inFig. 1. with an arm 14 which carries a pin 15 on which bearing 4 ispivotally mounted. The outer bearing member 4a within which the innerbearing member Al is supported is suitably constructed in To this endstand 1 is provided' such manner that not only may the entire bearing435 be pivoted in a vertical plane around bolt 15, but the shaft 7 mayhave universal movement with respect to outer bearing member 4a. Due tothe spherical shape of the right hand end, as seen in the figures, ofouter bearing member 4a, the bearm ing will take up thrust as well asradial loads. The left hand bearing 3 is, as evident from Fig. 3, formedas an open journal-bearing in which the shaft 6 of the drum rests. Thislast mentioned shaft is suitably provided with a special handle 6a whichmay be of heat insulating material.

The members for driving the drum are arranged in such-manner that whenthe drum is pivoted in the direction of the arrow as the transmissionmembers, that is the cogged wheels 9 and 3 10, are disengaged from eachother, and when the drum is pivoted back into the operating positionthey will again engage each other. The drum may be heated in anyconvenient manner, as

by means of a burner 16. The drum may be filled 35 with water from acook 17 to which one end of a. hose 18 is connected. The other end ofpipe 18 is connected with a bent pipe 19 which may be loosely insertedthrough the opening in handle Go into the bore 11 of hollow shaft 6.Below shaft 7 on the emptying side of the drum a bucket 20 is placed.The drum 5 is provided with an opening 21 which, during operation of themachine, is tightly closed by a cover 21a. Through this opening thematerial to be washed, is put into the drum and after the washingoperation has been finished it is removed therethrough.

The right hand shaft 7 which serves as an outlet pipe is provided at itsouter end with external threads 22 which are adapted to receive aclosing member 23 formed with corresponding internal threads. Member 23is also provided with ribs 24' in order to facilitate the gripping ofsame. The axial bore of member 23 is fitted with an endpacking 25 ofleather or like material. The bore is further provided with a. stopper27 of rubber or similar material held in position by means of a screwbolt 26. To close the hollow shaft 7, stopper 27 first is pressed intochannel 12 until the threads on member 23 register with those on shaft7, whereupon the member 23 is tightly screwed on the shaft, wherebystopper 27 is pressed further into channel 12 and finally a seal iseffected by means of packing disc 25. The threads by means of whichmember 23 is screwed tight are pitched in such a direction that if themember is held still during rotation of the drum it will be unscrewedfrom the shaft.

The washing machine operates in the following manner.

The wash is inserted through the opening 21 in the wall of the drum,after which cover 2111. is tightly closed. Simultaneously cold or warmwater may be introduced through said opening, after which the contentsof the drum, is boiled and/or treated by means of rotating the drum. Theintroduction of cold or warm water may, however also be effected throughhose 18, bent pipe 19 and channel 11 from the cock 17. If the wash is tobe rinsed after the washing operation has been completed, the member 23is screwed off, which as already mentioned, may be effected by holdingthe same during rotation of the drum. Upon unscrewing the member 23 fromthread 22 the rubber stopper 23 will not be totally removed. The openingof channel or bore 12 thus will re-* main closed despite the fact thatthe thread connection has been loosened. This is of great importance asit prevents the operator of the machine from being injured by escapinghot water. The complete opening of the passage 12 is effected by meansof a short pull on the member 23 which removes the rubber stopper 27from the bore 12. At the moment when the hot water escapes, the hand ofthe operator has been removed from the path of the escaping water. Thewater then flows as shown in the drawing into the bucket 20. The rinsingof the wash may be simultaneously started by opening water cock 1'!whereby hot or cold water enters drum 5 in the manner previouslydescribed through the left hand hollow shaft 6, passes through the washand escapes through the right hand shaft '7 to the bucket 20. Suchrinsing may be effected when the drum is stationary or when it isrotating as the bent pipe 19 is loosely placed into the bore 11 and, dueto its own weight and the weight of the hose 18, remains in thisposition and will not rotate with the drum. The connection between thewater pipes 18 and 19 may be constructed in other ways; for instancemember 19 may be connected with hollow shaft 11 by means of any knownswivel joint. The rinsing operation may be continued in the mannerdescribed until the water leaving the hollow shaft '1 is clear and freefrom soap.

when the rinsing operation is finished, the drum may be completelyemptied before or after the clean clothes are removed through theopening 21. Such emptying is eflected by the operator removing members18 and 19 and grasping a handle 60 and tilting the drum in the directionof arrows. lnthismannerdnimfiistiltedtosuch position that the inneropening of bore 12 is at the lowest place of the interior of theball-shaped container so that all the liquid therein will be completelydrained into bucket 20.

A special advantage results from the fact that the axis of rotation ofthe drum 5 is inclined to the horizontal, inasmuch as the entrance forthe rinsing water is above the outlet. This makes it possible to employa loose connection between pipe 19 and hollow shaft 6 as there is notendency for water to leak out therebetween. If the inlet and outletwere at the same level, as they would be if the axis were horizontal,the inlet would be submerged when the liquid level in the drum rosesufficiently high for discharge to take place through the outlet, and itwould be necessary to provide a liquid tight rotatable coupling betweenpipe 19 and hollow shaft 6. By doing away with the necessity of such acoupling, the present invention simplifies the device and reduces itscost.

In order to uniformly distribute the water entering through channel 11,a distributing member 28 is arranged inside the inner opening of saidchannel.

While I have shown and described one more or less specific embodiment ofmy invention, it is to be understood that this is for purposes ofillustration only, and the scope of my invention is to be determined bythe appended claims.

What I claim is:

- 1. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closedcontainer, shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of saidcontainer, said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interiorof said container bearings for said shafts in said frame located atdifferent elevations so that the axis of rotation'of said container isinclined to the horizontal, and means for rotating said container.

2. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, bearings for said shafts in said frame located at differentelevations so that the axis of rotation of said container is inclined tothe horizontal, means for introducing liquid into said container throughthe upper of said hollow shafts, and means for rotating said container.

3. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to-diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, bearings for said shafts in said frame located at differentelevations so that the axis of rotation of said container is inclined tothe horizontal, means for preventing flow of liquid through the lower ofsaid hollow shafts, and means for rotating said container.

4. A washing-machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with. the interior of saidcontainer, bearings for said shafts in said frame located at difierentelevations so that the axis' of rotation of said container is inclinedto the horizontal, means for introducing liquid into said containerthrough the upper of said hollow shafts means for preventing flow ofliquid through the lower of said hollow shafts,

and means for rotating said container.

5. A washing machine comprising a supportingframe, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, bearings for said shafts in said frame located-at differentelevations tating said container.

to diametrically opposed points of said container, said shafts beinghollow and communicating with the interior of said container, bearingsfor said shafts in said frame located at different elevations so thatthe axis of rotation of said container is inclined to the horizontal,means for rotating said container, a liquid supply conduit having oneend loosely journalled in the upper of said hollow shafts, said conduitbeing bent so that the other end extends downwardly ,and a flexible hoseconnected to said otherend, the weight of said conduit and said hosepreventing rotation thereof when said container is rotating.

7. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, a bearing for one of said shafts horizontally pivotallymounted. on said frame so as to be rotatable in a vertical plane, anopen journal bearing on said frame for the other of said shafts wherebysaid container may be pivoted in a vertical plane, and means for ro- 8.A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior ofsaid-container, a bearing for one of said shafts horizontally pivotallymounted on said frame so as to be rotatable in a vertical plane, an openjournal bearing on said frame for the other of said shafts, whereby saidcontainer may be pivoted in, avertical plane, a gear secured to saidcontainena driving motor mounted on said frame and having a drivingpinion, said gear being adapted to engage said pinion only when theother of said shafts is in said open journal bearmg. I

9. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, a combined thrust and radial bearing for one of said shaftshorizontally pivotally mounted on said frame so as to be rotatable in avertical plane, an open journal bearing on said frame for the other ofsaid shafts, whereby said container may be pivoted in a vertical plane,said open journal bearing being higher than said combined thrust andradial bearing whereby the axis of said container as determined by saidshafts is inclined to the horizontal, and

for rotating said container.

10. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and commui i i; eating with the interior ofsaid container, a cbmbined thrust and radial bearing for one of saidshafts horizontally pivotally mounted on said frame so as to berotatable in a vertical plane, an

open journal bearing on said frame for the other of said shafts, wherebysaid container may be pivoted in a vertical plane, said open journalbearing being higher than said combined thrust and radial bearingwhereby the axis of said container as determined by said, shafts isinclined to the horizontal, a gear secured to said container,

a driving motor mounted on said frame and hav-- ing a driving pinion,said gear being adapted to engage said pinion only when the other ofsaid shafts is in said open journal bearing.

ll. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, a combined thrust and radial bearing for one of said shaftshorizontally pivotally mounted on said frame so as tobe rotatable in avertical plane, an open journal bearing on said frame for the other ofsaid shafts whereby said container may be pivoted in a vertical plane,said open journal bearing being higher than said combined thrust andradial bearing whereby the axis of said container .as determined by saidshafts is inclined to the horizontal, means for introducing liquidthrough the upper of said shafts, means for preventing flow liquidthrough the lower of said shafts, and means for rotating said container.

12. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container.said shafts being hollow and communieating with the interior of saidcontainer, bearings for-said shafts in said frame located at differentelevations so that the axis of rotation of said container is inclined tothe horizontal, means for rotating said container, and a cap forpreventing flow of liquid through the lower of said shafts,

said cap and said shaft being formed with similar screw threads forsecuring said cap on said shaft, the direction of the pitch of saidthreads being such with respect to the direction of rotation of saidcontainer that the cap will be unscrewed when it is held stationarywhile the container is rotating.

13. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a closed container,shaft members secured to diametrically opposed points of said container,said shafts being hollow'and communicating with the interior of saidcontainer, an arm horizontally pivotally mounted on said frame, an outerbearing member secured to said arm and having an inner sphericalsurface, an inner bearing member secured to one of said shafts andhaving an outer spherical'surface cooperating with said inner sphericalsurface, an open journal .bearing'on said frame for the other of saidshafts WILHELM HERMANN KARL OEIMANN.

